6 ms·

Customers (like competitors) are the victims of monopolies, not the perpetrator. The only perpetrator is the monopolistic company itself, and the only solution

Customers (like competitors) are the victims of monopolies, not the perpetrator. The only perpetrator is the monopolistic company itself, and the only solution is government action.

colejohnson66 6y ago
Amazon didn’t get how they are today without the help of consumers. It’s not like they started out as a monopoly
- throwaway284534 6y ago
  That's absolutely true. It's just also a very narrow lense to look at the situation. I've worked retail and it honestly sucks for everyone involved. The customers can't make informed choices or even get an unbiased direction from sales people. It's a market designed to work with as little information or agency as possible. People have a limited appetite for friction when they shop too. An ideal store with a better return policy and selection seems to look a lot like Amazon. I'm not saying that it's good for us to invest all of our shopping into one business. It's just what unregulated capitalism breeds over time.
- anonuser123456 6y ago
  Name a single product or service that Amazon has a monopoly on.
  - sp332 6y ago
    https://www.geekwire.com/2020/hearing-documents-reveal-amazons-aggressive-strategy-beat-diapers-com/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/hearing-documents-reveal-amazo...
    - anonuser123456 6y ago
      Walmart.com, Target.com So not a monopoly. Edit: Walgreens.com, Costco.com, Honest.com All 5 of those popped up on Google/DuckDuck before anything from Amazon.
  - colejohnson66 6y ago
    I wasn’t saying they do or don’t have one... just that they didn’t get as big as they are today without the actual consumers. My wording could’ve been better.
  - TulliusCicero 6y ago
    I dunno about a monopoly, but they arguably have market power for online retail since IIRC they have 50% market share.
  - aembleton 6y ago
    Kindle books
EdwinLarkin 6y ago
The problem with this logic is that if you dont create such monopoly someone else definitely will. Companies like Amazon are of national interest and cannot be easily regulated by governments. My proposal is to have a "social responsibility tax". That does not have to be necessarily be a financial thing. Companies like amazon should provide adequate housing and other perks where they can utilize economies of scale.
- TulliusCicero 6y ago
  Why does it need a special tax? Just use regular ass taxes, raise them if they're not high enough. > Companies like amazon should provide adequate housing and other perks where they can utilize economies of scale. Sorry, but this is ridiculous. Why twist Amazon's arm into providing random social benefits, when you can just, y'know, have the government do it? Because that kind of thing is their job? Imagine if you were like, "hmm, we don't seem to have enough public parks and libraries...I know! We'll force huge private corporations to provide them! I can't wait to go to Jeff Bezos Park, sponsored by Prime Video!" Would that really be an improvement over the local government doing it?
  - EdwinLarkin 6y ago
    I am from a former communist country and I have yet to see a competent government that used taxes efficiently and was not like "it's never enough". The problem is lack of accountability, corruption, nepotism and lack of vision (shortterm thinking). It's easier for Amazon to find a way how to construct more efficiently housing that's adequate even for lower classes. The government just need to set a quality standard for that housing.
    - amelius 6y ago
      Yes, if anything needs fixing, it's governments. Because they are the ones who should fix large corporations. Not their employees or their customers.
    - TulliusCicero 6y ago
Aunche 6y ago
Amazon's dominance and small business' decline this year is mostly the blame of the government. An earlier quarantine would have both been shorter and more effective. Large corporations were the only ones able to survive to storm, and you want the government to break those too?
- Schiendelman 6y ago
  It’s the only entity with that power, in both directions.

Customers (like competitors) are the victims of monopolies, not the perpetrator. The only perpetrator is the monopolistic company itself, and the only solution is government action.

colejohnson66 6y ago

Amazon didn’t get how they are today without the help of consumers. It’s not like they started out as a monopoly

throwaway284534 6y ago
That's absolutely true. It's just also a very narrow lense to look at the situation. I've worked retail and it honestly sucks for everyone involved. The customers can't make informed choices or even get an unbiased direction from sales people. It's a market designed to work with as little information or agency as possible. People have a limited appetite for friction when they shop too. An ideal store with a better return policy and selection seems to look a lot like Amazon. I'm not saying that it's good for us to invest all of our shopping into one business. It's just what unregulated capitalism breeds over time.
anonuser123456 6y ago
Name a single product or service that Amazon has a monopoly on.
- sp332 6y ago
  https://www.geekwire.com/2020/hearing-documents-reveal-amazons-aggressive-strategy-beat-diapers-com/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/hearing-documents-reveal-amazo...
  - anonuser123456 6y ago
    Walmart.com, Target.com So not a monopoly. Edit: Walgreens.com, Costco.com, Honest.com All 5 of those popped up on Google/DuckDuck before anything from Amazon.
- colejohnson66 6y ago
  I wasn’t saying they do or don’t have one... just that they didn’t get as big as they are today without the actual consumers. My wording could’ve been better.
- TulliusCicero 6y ago
  I dunno about a monopoly, but they arguably have market power for online retail since IIRC they have 50% market share.
- aembleton 6y ago
  Kindle books

EdwinLarkin 6y ago

The problem with this logic is that if you dont create such monopoly someone else definitely will. Companies like Amazon are of national interest and cannot be easily regulated by governments. My proposal is to have a "social responsibility tax". That does not have to be necessarily be a financial thing. Companies like amazon should provide adequate housing and other perks where they can utilize economies of scale.

TulliusCicero 6y ago
Why does it need a special tax? Just use regular ass taxes, raise them if they're not high enough. > Companies like amazon should provide adequate housing and other perks where they can utilize economies of scale. Sorry, but this is ridiculous. Why twist Amazon's arm into providing random social benefits, when you can just, y'know, have the government do it? Because that kind of thing is their job? Imagine if you were like, "hmm, we don't seem to have enough public parks and libraries...I know! We'll force huge private corporations to provide them! I can't wait to go to Jeff Bezos Park, sponsored by Prime Video!" Would that really be an improvement over the local government doing it?
- EdwinLarkin 6y ago
  I am from a former communist country and I have yet to see a competent government that used taxes efficiently and was not like "it's never enough". The problem is lack of accountability, corruption, nepotism and lack of vision (shortterm thinking). It's easier for Amazon to find a way how to construct more efficiently housing that's adequate even for lower classes. The government just need to set a quality standard for that housing.
  - amelius 6y ago
    Yes, if anything needs fixing, it's governments. Because they are the ones who should fix large corporations. Not their employees or their customers.
  - TulliusCicero 6y ago

Aunche 6y ago

Amazon's dominance and small business' decline this year is mostly the blame of the government. An earlier quarantine would have both been shorter and more effective. Large corporations were the only ones able to survive to storm, and you want the government to break those too?

Schiendelman 6y ago
It’s the only entity with that power, in both directions.